The Future of Valhalla
by Doddsey
Summary: After the fall of civilisation is a hard time live in and hard to stay away from becoming something or someone's next meal. Lukas and Emil are survivors they only have each other and trust no one. Will a small survivor colony change their minds or will they brave it in the barren and toxic wasteland they have come to call home? Post-apocalypse AU. Human names used. Nordic 5/Sealand
1. Chapter 1 - Missing

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters.

There will be violence, gore and mentions of death through-out this story – If there is anything else it will be added at the beginning of each chapter.

"The Future of Valhalla"

The sound of the harsh wind blowing through the corrugated tin sheeting that covered them echoed through the ruins that they camped in for the night. Lukas the eldest of the two lay there turning in his sleep, his once peaceful dreams now nightmares, plagued by the sounds of destruction and chaos. The small rough encampment baring very little safety but the silence is thick and the night cold is harsh. Cold... It's too cold. Lukas shot up from his sleep, franticly feeling at the space by the side of him. Empty. He sticks his blonde head out of the side of the corrugated sheeting, the sunlight filtering through the wreckage of the old school building they had chosen for the night. His panicked purple blue eyes began searching. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, His little brother, his only anchor in this wasteland was missing.

Lukas gathered the small amount of provisions and items they had, some food they had scavenged from a ruined house a few miles away, a water skin that he had made that was in bad repair and a hunting knife, it was his fathers. Moving the tin sheeting Lukas broke out into the school ruins, his hunting knife gripped firmly in his hand. From his years in this wasteland he knew to keep his weapon drawn at all times. His footfalls were echoing through the halls, the rubble making walking lightly harder and harder with every step. Small beads of sweat trickled from the back of Lukas' neck, pooling into the collar of the rough dirty shirt that hung from his lithe body. Not having his brother near him was making Lukas nervous, had he wandered off? Had he been taken? Please not taken, anything but taken. Lukas' mind flitted images past his eyes, an outstretched hand, the view from a door crack, two people searching… searching for him, him and his brother, a scream, a bloodcurdling scream and silence.

Lukas stopped, his breathing hitched, his vision blurred. "Not again, please no" Lukas' voice scratched out from his parched throat. His rough calloused hands pressed against the wall behind him and supported his weight as his knees buckled beneath him. Lukas leaned back against the wall and pressed his hands to his face "Now is not the time for this. Pull yourself together Lukas! He is out there; you are going to find him. He needs you." Lukas chastised himself. He pulled himself up shakily, breathing in the dusty air and pressed on through the ruins, his feet finding the floor at a quicker pace than before. The sun coming up faster made the dust swirls more visible in the air. Turning corner after corner the hunting knife pressed out in front, Lukas heard a crack… his foot is suspended in mid-air. Placing his leg down silently Lukas span in the direction of the noise, his breathing quickened, the hairs on his arm stood on end and the sweat on his neck chilled sending shivers through his spine.

A ruffle, a different direction, Lukas's head span, blonde hair sweeping over his face. Brushing the hair out of his face, he crouched moving through the rubble slowly, the knife in his hand, the horn handle digging into the palm of his hand, he turned a corner and held his breath. He would fight if he had to; he would fight till the ends of the barren land that is now the earth to protect his brother, his only family, the only thing he has left in this world. Lukas' eyes shifted to the movement on the floor, letting out the breath he had held. Too small to be human… or at least what passes for human these days, but not too small to be deadly. Knife poised, ready to strike. Lukas threw the blade expertly into the rubble pile at the movement. A high pitched shriek and the moving stopped.

Knowing the noise was loud enough to attract any attention Lukas waited, waited for any sign that he was not alone. No sign came; this meant a blessing but also meant his brother was still missing. Moving to the horn handle sticking through the scrap pile, Lukas picked it up, to find a large rat skewered on the tip. "Well at least we will be getting meat today" Lukas sighed removing the rat from his blade and wiping the blood onto its fur. Standing to full height once again Lukas tied the rat to his makeshift rope belt by its tail. He became focused once again on finding his younger brother.

The young blonde moved through the ruined classrooms with ease, the adrenaline from the altercation with the rat giving him an added boost to his stamina. The smoky and dusty rooms around him seemed to filter past with no sign of the young pale face he so desperately needed to see. Lukas on his search came to an almost intact room, hauntingly perfect, save for the scorch marks on the desks. Reading the walls he saw that this was a class of six to seven year olds… just a little younger than his brother was when it became just the two of them. The small children's painted handprints on the walls of the classroom spoke to him deep down. They reminded him of his brothers hands when he led him away when it was finally safe, the screams had stopped and the people had gone. There was nothing else he needed to do. "Find him Lukas… you have to."

Shaking off the cold feeling that the classroom had given him, Lukas adjusted his rat baring rope belt and rolled up the sleeves of his rough patched shirt. The room had made him more determined, he pushed his hair back out of his face with a rough blood stained hand. Lukas focused his eyes coldly on the path in front of him. This was a do or die situation, without his brother he had nothing to live for, he had no reason to be fighting any more, though he wouldn't give up. He would find his brother or find a body. Until then, the fight in him only became stronger.

Lukas had nearly searched the whole of this school building, with a terrifying lack of his brother. His strength waning slightly as the last of the adrenaline wore off, now, he was just scared, he was scared he would never find his brother, scared he had failed to protect him. Lukas pushed a door that was on one hinge out of the way with his foot, slowly turning the edge to see inside the room. It led outside. His heart leapt into his mouth, where was the other half of the building?! Had his brother been taken to the outside? Would he ever find him now that his search had lead him here? A flash of light caught his attention. Lukas lifted a hand to his face to block out the harsh rays of the sun that beat down on his pale face to see a scrap heap a short distance away. He felt for his water skin assessing how much water he had left, there wasn't a lot. With a nod of his head and a purse of his lips Lukas pushed onwards towards the pile of scrap, with a hope that his brother was near.

The morning sun moved higher in the sky as Lukas made his way to the scrap heap, the acrid land around him as dry and as parched as he was. Touching the scrap heap he paused, and placed his battered water skin to his lips letting the liquid trickle into his mouth. He needed to ration it if it was to last. Looking down at the rat at his hip "I know what I'm using your skin for" Lukas said to himself. With that he began to climb, reaching the top would give him a better sight of what lay beyond the pile of junk. Slipping once or twice Lukas reached the top, his hand in front of his face shielding the bright rays once again. His eyes focused on a dark figure with his back to him. Lukas crouched and tried not to slip, he squinted in the sunlight, and saw the light reflect off the pale hair of the figure on the heap below. That hair colour. Light almost like snow. His heart tripped over its beats and his shoulders sank. The energy in his body now failing. He heaved himself over the scrap pile and slid down to the boy below "Emil! If you _ever _disappear like that again I will skin you alive myself!" Lukas scolded the small young boy in front of him. Emil was a small boy of around 13 years old, his skin paler than his brothers, eyes a deeper shade of purplely blue and his thin lips pressed together in a line "I'm not a child any more I can find things too. I can help. Besides I put a note on the wall if you even bothered to look at what was in front of your eyes" Emil quipped with a slight frown.

Lukas rubbed his own face feeling the relief wash over him "Just don't ever do that to me again Bror, I thought you were…" Lukas trailed off. Emil looked down and shuffled his feet kicking some scrap away. "Sorry. But I did find something!" Emil said with a little more enthusiasm "Look!" the young boy pulled out an old assault rifle. "Bror, Where did you find this!?" Lukas exclaimed. Emil pointed to a section a little lower than where they were and added "The trigger needs fixing and I tried looking for ammo, but I couldn't find any" Lukas looked over the gun once more before looking at the sky. "We don't have very long… we can come back and look again but we need to move on from here, we can't stay there again. I caught us some dinner" He said holding up the rat. "We need to be gone by sundown"

Lukas wrapped a protective arm around his brother, Emil shrugged him off "Geroff" Lukas was relieved to have found him. Little did the pair know that someone somewhere near was searching for a small one too…


	2. Chapter 2 - The Lure

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters.

There will be violence, gore and mentions of death through-out this story – If there is anything else it will be added at the beginning of each chapter.

* * *

"The Future of Valhalla" – Chapter 2, The Lure.

Night is falling fast and the reunited brothers were sitting around a hastily made fire, roasting the rat that Lukas had caught earlier. Emil lay on his back looking up at the sky, aware that his brother kept looking up at him to check he was still there. "I'm not going anywhere Lukas so stop looking at me." Emil told him. Lukas scrunched his face and shook his head muttering under his breath as he checked over the gun that his brother had found. It needed a new spring for the trigger and ammo, Lukas could fix it once he had a spring but the ammo… that was a different story. The smell of the roast rat made the boy's mouths water and their stomachs grumble. "It's not going to be long. We have to cook it well, I know rats not your favourite but it's better than nothing." Lukas offered to his brother. The darkness setting in meant they had to eat fast and move quickly to a new encampment. Not wanting to fall prey to the night creatures was as important as avoiding anything in the daylight. The darkness hides secrets.

A mouthful of rat, grease dripping down their fingers the brothers ate ravenously, grateful to have the protein to fuel their slowly weakening bodies. Good food had been a long time scarce. They had some tinned food from a house before Emil has done his disappearing act, but that would last, the rat would not, so for that night they ate their first hot meal in weeks. "We have an hour or so of sunlight left, we need to go Emil" Lukas said as he packed up their things, his father's hunting knife held securely in his hand. Emil's body groaned as he moved his stomach had shrunk over the weeks of poor rations and the rat had expanded it, only very little but enough to hurt. "Can't we just stay here?" Emil whined. Lukas kicked some dirt over the dying coals of the fire "If you wanna stay here and get eaten by the shakers then fine, but I'm not risking that, get off your butt and move" The elder of the two commanded.

Emil groaned but listened to his brother, he knew they had to be under cover in the darkness, their years of living this way had taught him that. They walked for few miles searching for a ruined building or a cave, a wrecked vehicle, anything they could be covered by to set their camp. For tonight, their camp was an old over turned arctic trailer. They couldn't stay at the same place twice in a row, if anything or anyone had followed them, they were done for. The brothers settled for the night at the mouth of the trailer, listening to the noises of the night. The howling of creatures unknown, the movement of the sparse shrubbery that scattered the pockmarked expanse of land that was laid out before them awaiting their journey in the daylight.

Lukas's sleep didn't come easy; the nightmares plagued him once more, a regular occurrence now. Emil was awakened by the muffled noises and jagged movements of his brother as he tossed and turned in his sleep. He bit his lip and shuffled closer to his older brother wishing he could do something to help him, but he knew it's not the life they have now that plagues him. Emil knew he had it easy with sleep, he didn't have the same memories as Lukas, he didn't remember the reason why his brother panics when Emil isn't near, the reason the nightmares haunt any peaceful moment Lukas could possibly have. The nightmare that sometimes made it into his waking hours.

Morning once more, sunlight streams through the open doors of the trailer and the harsh breeze picks up the dust and throws it around making dark patterns in the dirt. Lukas wakes to find Emil with an arm around him, his face peaceful and worry free, he wished he could make every moment like that for his little brother, but there's no way, no way at all. Shaking Emil lightly Lukas tried to rouse the smaller boy from his slumber "Come on Bror, we got a spring to find" He smiled lightly knowing that going searching for parts would put a smile on his younger companion's face, he knew his brother just wanted to help. The younger boy groaned and rolled over before letting a peek of the deep purple blue eyes out through his light bangs "Really… you want me to help?" Emil asked a little intrigued. "Ja, of course I do. I won't know where I'm looking if you don't show me" Lukas tapped the gun that lay by the side of them. Emil's face broke into a rare smile, a sight Lukas treasured with every happening. Lukas cautiously stepped outside and pulled his knife before waving Emil out from the cover of the trailer. "Come on, it's still early we have plenty of daylight to do this" Lukas said as he led the smaller boy back through the path they followed the previous day.

The metal on the scrap heap was hot to the touch, baking under the toxic sun for days on end made this mound an exotherm's dream home. Luckily Emil had found some material at the beginning of their search combined with a little string and a few cuts with the hunting knife and Lukas had made the pair a set of makeshift gloves each. Picking away at the scrap bit by bit, the brothers placed every spring they found in an old street lamp case. Unfortunately for the pair they hadn't found a single hint of any ammo hidden away in the pile of mindless junk. Emil and Lukas wiped the sweat from their brows, streaking dust and dark grease across their pale faces, the looked up and sighed at the fading sun. "Time to get going" Lukas announced as he slid his way to the bottom of the heap Emil following behind shortly after. Lukas decided to walk around the heap in search of a new direction to find camp, Emil followed behind rattling the case of springs as he walked.

The wiry trees and sparse bushes along the path scattered suspicious looking shadows along every stretch of broken pathway, Lukas' nerves were on edge and even Emil had become wary of their surroundings. Every whistle of the breeze sounded like someone calling a name, a child's cry or a dog's bark. Lukas walked knife raised and poised to strike at a moment's notice. Rounding the corner of a fallen down wall Lukas held Emil back with one arm, too nervous to even think about letting the boy take the corner with him. He felt like he was being watched, an uneasy feeling set into the pair as Lukas let his brother follow on, making sure he was close.

Lukas saw in his sights the perfect building up ahead for them to make camp, a rundown boarded up post office, it wouldn't take them very long to get inside. Lukas became a little more hopeful now that he saw the building, he hoped for supplies inside, anything they could possibly use. His steps took less time, his brother followed along behind at a slower pace, the clanging of the springs heard as he walked a little faster, until suddenly they stopped. Lukas whipped around and found Emil stood in the middle of the path way looking off to the left. Looking at something small and huddled on the ground. Lukas' hand gripped the blade, and moved slowly towards his brother "Emil… _Emil come on" _Lukas whispered. "Bror, it's a little kid." Emil pointed out to him. "I know… which is exactly why we need to go. _NOW" _Lukas insisted. Emil frowned "But he's a little kid Bror, what if it was me? Would you do the same?" Emil asked with a stubborn look on his face. "Ja, if I didn't know you, I would! Now come on" Lukas pulled at his arm, causing the case of springs to fall and clatter to the ground. Lukas and Emil's heads shot up towards the kid, he had flinched at the noise and noticed them staring.

The small boy stood up revealing his tattered sailor suit, his dirty face and knees and a small cut on his arm that was caked in dry blood. The boy's lower lip quivered and he took a hesitant step towards them both. The grip on the knife tightened and the blade was raised slightly. "Don't come any closer!" Lukas said in what he hoped was a confident and scaring voice. The small boy stopped and his face screwed up a little more and small sobs could be heard from him. "Lukas Your scaring him" Emil whispered, "Good. I know what you are. Where are they? Where's your baiters?" Lukas called out to the sobbing boy "He's a _Lure_. A fucking lure for those filthy shakers!" Lukas spat and turned to look at the child again "He has to be. Who has a kid that young in a place like this?!"

The small boy raised his head at the questions "I…I…I… I can't find my momma." He stuttered out, "I Lost my nunu and I can't find my momma!" Lukas' legs buckled, his vision went hazy. "NO, NOT NOW" he yelled scaring the boy once more. The memories that haunt his nightmares came back to him in a flood of vibrant images. Emil held his shaking brother unsure of what to do, his stoic brother on his knees and a seemingly harmless little sobbing just across the path. His voice hitched as he called to his big brother "Lukas, Come on, Pull yourself together. Bror, I need you…"


	3. Chapter 3 -The Shakers

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters.

There will be violence, gore and mentions of death through-out this story – If there is anything else it will be added at the beginning of each chapter.

* * *

"The Future of Valhalla" – Chapter 3 – The Shakers.

Lukas' mind over ruled him, just when he needed it the most. He felt like he had failed. The lure was still with Emil and there was nothing he could do about it. It wouldn't be long before it's baiters were here and he was useless. The images played out before him like the old moving pictures on the big screens. A once lived horror movie. He remembered that day, how it happened, why it happened.

_A derelict house. Musty smells and creaky floorboards. Every step they took felt like they would plummet into darkness if one should break. A family of traders, one couple and two sons, surviving and getting by on anything they could after the fall took everything they had that wasn't each other. The other family was here, the father and mother smiled sweetly and held each other's hand for support, a boy stood behind them, timid and weak._

"_Come on Lukas, there's nothing to be afraid of, see they even have a young boy with them. Their son. You can play with him whilst we trade" His father said crouching down a little to look at the blondes face "I need you to look after Emil whilst we're not here. You can do that for me, Ja?" Lukas' face pouted but nodded, he couldn't deny a request from his father._

_Lukas tugged his little brother along to see the boy that his father had mentioned once the adults had left to trade in another room. Emil is seven years old, he's still a quiet kid, he doesn't say much. Lukas stood in front of the boy that had come to them, the boy that informed the family of his parents passing through their camp. That they were traders and had many things that could be of use to Lukas' parents. Lukas didn't like to meet new people. He had seen the end of the world come and go with his parents as a young child, the sounds of the bombs dropping were nothing compared to when the food started to run out. The small pockets of survivors clambered at each other, physically injuring each other; some even went as far as to kill each other. A young child watching that chaos unfold lived in hell. _

_The brothers looked over the thin, scrawny boy that he had been asked to play with when a sound that was rarely heard rang through Lukas' ears. "What's wrong with your hands?" Emil said quietly as he looked at the hands at his eye level. The boy looked down and looked at the dirty bandages on his wrists, and he flinched away. "N-Nothing" Lukas frowned "It's not, if there's bandages. Lying is bad you shouldn't do it" The boy stuttered and stammered as he tried to avoid the question that the unusual coloured eyes of the brothers pressed on him once more. The timid boy was close to breaking, he looked around and listened for any sounds, he opened his mouth to speak, when a shrill voice called "Boy. Come!" he shook and stuttered once more before obeying the voice's command. _

_Emil didn't like this place he gripped onto Lukas' hand, Lukas' felt the same with and added amount of nerves. He had heard his mother and father talking a few nights before, that some people in the trading colony a few miles west had gone missing. That they were taken right from their own camps and no trace of any beast or night creature was found. That's when it happened. A whistling noise and a thud from the room opposite, followed by a bloodcurdling scream. Lukas instinctively placed his hands over his brother's ears. That voice was unmistakeable to Lukas "M-Mor!?" Hearing the noise of a struggle in the other room Lukas' mind panicked his father told him what to do if anything happened to them… but what was it! What was it?! Lukas pulled Emil backwards, deeper into the room, until he could go no further. A deep mahogany panelled wall stopped his retreat. The sounds of fighting and the cursing still going, the voices overlapping one another. Lukas looked from his position for the exit of the room. He had walked away from it! "Find a place to hide" His father's voice rung in his mind. Hide. Lukas still held his hand over his brother's ears and pulled him along to search "Search for anything Emil, a crack big enough to get into, a door, a hole, anything ok" Lukas nodded. Lukas' had flew from the pale innocent ears of his brother, and began searching the walls for a hint of a door. Emil had sunk to the floor and began to cry, the noises though he didn't understand what they were had scared him. Lukas' eyes filled with tears he wiped at them furiously. Now was not the time for crying. _

_Lukas's hand skimmed over a switch on the wall pressing it in, a click happened over the other end of the room, blonde hair span and flicked around as he turned in the direction of the sound, a room in the wall had opened. Lukas had no time for thinking if the others knew of this room, all he thought of was his father's words "Find a place to hide, and stay there till you are sure it's safe" He ran to Emil and grabbed his small outstretched hand, pulling him to the room in the wall. Closing the door behind him hearing another click once his hand was taken off the inside handle. Emil was shaking with his tears; the noise wasn't so loud in here. Lukas tried to remember what they called these little rooms in the walls… Priest holes. That's what they are called. Lukas held his brother close to stop his tears, the sounds outside had stopped, there was nothing now… and silence was always bad. _

_Footsteps broke through the silence, entering the empty space outside the closed door of the hidden room. The voice of the man echoed through the room "Laney. Get in here. Those brats have gone!" a second later the woman's shrill nasally voice could be heard "Give it up, they couldn't have got far, not like they have anywhere to go now" Lukas closed his eyes and held Emil close hoping his brothers sobs wouldn't reveal their hiding place. The man's voice boomed in Lukas' ears from the outside "Laney… It's happening again… Look… The shaking is back. We need more… They killed the boy we need to find those kids we need a new one" Laney sighed audibly "We will find them Hank, they can't have got far, we need to get the meat back to camp first before someone else finds it, there's three there now, if we put it in the salt cellar things will be fine. Do that go then go get the kids. It's just like fishing; sometimes you lose your bait."_

_Lukas' held his breath… Meat. They were going to eat his parents, they killed them and now they wanted to…, Lukas felt sick to his stomach. He had to control his urge to dry heave the meagre meal that his parents had managed to trade for them today. His sobbing brother in his arms was more important than anything right now. Lukas waited, hearing the soft dragging of something heavy, the clip clop of footsteps on the bare floorboards. The creak of the derelict house as it moved with the wind around them. Lukas waited for hours, he sat and waited as his brother fell asleep in his arms, he waited for the absolute silence, till it was safe. _

_It was the next day before Lukas opened the door to the priest hole in the room. The stream of bright light blinded him after being in the dark for so long. He carried his sleeping brothers form out of the room and tried not to wake him, for he wasn't sure what he would find. Lukas made his way into the other room. The room where it happened. He found no bodies, only the brutal evidence of what happened in this room, the blood marks in the frayed worn carpet and streaking the walls. Tears sprang to the orphaned boy's face, when the sun glinted of something that made him close his eyes. Lukas adjusted his head and wiped his tears in his brother's sleeve, what he saw was a distinct horn handled hunting knife. It was his fathers. He manuvered the sleeping boy in his arms so he could pick it up. The cold horn in his palm made him feel like the responsibility had passed to him. Lukas looked down at the sleeping face in his arms and back to the blade, the very last thing his father said to him came back into his mind "I need you to look after Emil whilst we're not here. You can do that for me, Ja?" _

Lukas shot up in a cold sweat screaming, Emil held him down and Lukas searched franticly for the knife "Where is he? Where's the lure? My knife! Where is it!" He shouted. Emil shook his head "I took the knife away you were holding it so tight you were gonna hurt yourself. Peter is behind you. He's ok, he's not a lure Lukas he's just a scared little kid, scared and cold!." Lukas spun around and shuffled away "That's what they want you to think! Stay away from us!" He shouted once again. Peter whined and pressed himself against the wall "You're mean!", Emil looked to him and soothed him "Shh.. It's ok he will see once I explain" Emil approached Lukas slowly "Bror, just listen to me… let me explain, you hit your head and knocked yourself out when you fainted, Peter helped me drag you here, to the post office." Emil started to tell him.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Lost Boy

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters.

There will be violence, gore and mentions of death through-out this story – If there is anything else it will be added at the beginning of each chapter.

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"The Future of Valhalla" – Chapter 4 – The Lost Boy.

Emil positioned himself between Lukas and Peter, feeling a strange compulsion to protect the smaller boy. Maybe it was his age, or the innocence in his eyes that made Emil trust him. "Now if you just let me talk, let me tell you what's happened" Emil said softly to his elder brother. Lukas tensed and shifted uncomfortably; he stayed silent but eyed the small boy with venom in his eyes.

Peter moved a little closer to Emil, his tiny hands reached for the hem of Emil's patched up shirt and his thumb was firmly wedged in his mouth. Lukas' eyes narrowed "He's really good, you just wait there will be people looking for him and then that's it we're done for. Do you even know what you have done Emil!" Lukas spat. Emil shook his head "Let me explain! Peter is a lost little kid. We would still be outside now if he didn't help me get you and all those springs in here" Emil pointed to the casing of springs they had gathered for the gun earlier. "You went down to the floor, you hit your head Bror, you screamed quite loud and I couldn't hold you up. Peter ... he was scared he ran and hid behind a bush… what kind of lure runs and hides behind a bush?" Emil said pointing his fingers down at the child sucking his thumb and gripping on to his shirt. "Let's get a fire going and I can tell you everything ok" Emil nodded "It's safe enough in here for a fire ja?" He asked. Lukas' shoulders dropped "Ja, it is, just be quick about it and give me the gun. I'll fix it. But I don't want him anywhere near me"

Peter took his thumb out of his mouth and stuck out his tongue. Lukas' face dropped "Did you just… I ... Emil go get stuff for the fire" he groaned not liking this situation at all. Emil laughed quietly under his breath and tugged Peter along with him "Come on… we will let the old sour puss stew for a little" Peter nodded and grinned before sticking his thumb back in his mouth. Lukas muttered under his breath and set about fixing the trigger on the assault rifle, leafing through the assortment of springs they had collected.

Once the fire roared in the room casting glowing shadows and flickering light catching on the golden sun bleached hair on the back of Lukas' head, Emil cleared his throat "Will you listen now?" Lukas shrugged and continued taking the gun apart comparing the broken spring to the ones laid out in front of him. "Fine I'll tell you anyway" Emil looked down at Peter, his dirt streaked face now looking peaceful as he dozed by his side "After you went down and were unconscious, I didn't know what to do… I panicked, I thought about leaving you Lukas… but I… I just couldn't. Peter came back out from behind the bush and asked me if you were ok, asked me if you hurt yourself. He asked if you needed a Band-Aid. That's how I knew he wasn't a lure; the shakers that bait with kid lures don't scavenge medical supplies like Band-Aids for them" Emil shrugged down the wall so that he was a little more comfortable only moving Peter slightly, the child nuzzled into Emil's side a little more. Emil picked at a frayed hem on the bottom of his shirt. "Speaking of which… we could do with trying to find some you know… meds… just in case" Lukas frowned "You don't have to tell me that Emil, I'm aware of what we need"

"I tried to pull you to the side, get you out of the open but every time I moved you, something fell or dropped off you… except the knife… if you kept hold of that you would have cut yourself, we can't afford to have you hurt yourself, lack of medical supplies and all. So I took it off you and noticed Peter picking things up and putting them in the lamp case. He just wanted to help, so I asked him his name. He told me his parents called him Peter so his name must be Peter. I put all your loose things in the lamp case and asked him to grab your foot, we got you back here. You've been out for a few hours Bror." Emil sighed loud, and picked up some rubbish and put it onto the fire. Lukas' nimble hands were still working at the gun, his eyes trained on the spring he was trying to fit into the mechanism. "He asked me if I had seen his nunu? Apparently he got separated from his parents whilst looking for his nunu, I have no idea what a nunu is, do you have any clue?" He asked his brother tilting his head to the side waiting for an answer to see if he had been listening. Lukas shook his head, the flames made the light dance off his hair. "I asked him where he came from, and he said this exactly _"We live in Valhalla with uncle Matty"_ I don't remember much Lukas but I know what Valhalla is... he said he lives in heaven Lukas… how can that be possible? And we he said… uncle Matty! There are others." Emil's voice shrank to little more than a whisper. "There's some where safe out there"

Lukas' hands finally clicked the spring into place "Ahhh got it! I finally fix this damn gun! Now we just gotta find some ammo!" He whooped. "So you think the kid isn't shaker bait because he claims to live in a place called Valhalla and knows what Band-Aids are?" Lukas turned to him "did you even listen to yourself… there are people looking for him… he may be a little shaker himself. You don't know Emil. He isn't like the birds you find and try to patch up, you can't keep him as a pet. People will be coming to find him."

Emil frowned and nodded "Ja I know that. But if they are taking care of him... they aren't gonna be bad people Lukas." He looked down at the sleeping child. "It's getting late; we should sleep" Lukas shrugged once more "You can, I… I don't think I will be able to tonight" He admitted with downcast eyes. Emil nodded in understanding. The nightmares had scared him to stay awake.

Daylight streamed through the cracks in the boarded up windows, the fire had died out leaving a smouldering pile of ash in its wake. Lukas had managed to doze off, without his knife for safety his hands were firmly placed around the newly working rifle despite it being ammo less. The rays of light reached Emil's closed lids and he fluttered awake, to notice Peter wasn't asleep by the side of him. "Peter? PETER? Lukas get up! He's gone!" he shouted. Lukas shot up and held the gun out in front of him "Huh? What? HE WENT? See! I TOLD YOU!" Lukas shouted at his younger brother. "Gone to get them probably! His baiters!" Lukas gathered their things and sped off through the building "Get moving we've gotta go now"

Emil's face dropped and he knew he had done something bad, he knew it would take his brother a long time to let him do anything again. Emil followed behind his brother, the pair weaved through the rooms finding the place where Emil and Peter had brought them in the previous night. Lukas kicked down the panelling that led to outside and crawled through the small space. Once he was through he could not believe his eyes, the kid, Peter was sat on the step swinging his legs looking out to the dusty landscape. Emil followed behind "Peter! What are you doing out here!"

Peter swung his legs happily "Ma and Dad don't like it when I wake up early 'cause I wake 'em up, so I have my own little room where I play when I wait for them. I didn't wanna wake you or Mr Meany up 'cause I didn't wanna get shouted at. Sat right here" Peter said with his shining sea blue eyes up at the brothers. Lukas stood there in astonishment… his mouth hung open. Emil had a smug grin on his face.

Lukas looked out across the morning sun scarred horizon and squinted. He pushed the two boys behind him "Something is there" his mouth pressed into a thin line. "Give me my knife Emil." Emil did as his brother asked and he pulled Peter closer to him. Two shadows over the horizon got closer and closer, one large and one small. Lukas raised his knife ready to throw it at his targets, when an audible click made him freeze, the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked.

"Put th' kn'fe down, step away from th' boy 'nd I'll let ye keep ye face."


	5. Chapter 5 - Son of Man

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters.

There will be violence, gore and mentions of death through-out this story – If there is anything else it will be added at the beginning of each chapter. – This is a little longer than the previous chapters –

* * *

"The Future of Valhalla" – Chapter 5 – Son of Man

The glint of sunlight shining off the gun barrel pointed at his face made Lukas hesitate, but the knife was lowered but not dropped, he wasn't that foolish. Once his eyes focused he realised there was two guns, the long rifle barrel that was pointed at his nose thanks to the smaller figure and a hand gun that was pointed directly at Emil's face, held by the larger accented man looming over the top of the pair of them.

Emil's bottom lip started quivering; he took a step back from Peter. The small child glanced towards the two figures and he screamed in amazement when the smaller figure held out a torn length of cloth. "NUNU! MA IS THAT YOU?!MAMA~!" the small child screamed and ran forward hands reaching out for the tattered cloth. Emil and Lukas' faces dropped… he was a lure… he was! Lukas shot a disappointed look to Emil, who in turn gave a pained look back at his older brother and protector. A sigh of sorry came from Emil.

The smaller figure slid off the hood that it was wearing, revealing not as the brother's thought, a woman, but a man. A man with a rounded face, smeared with dirt, blonde hair that came to his chin and vibrant violet eyes. A soft face from a distance, but if you looked real close, you could see the hardship and pain there clear as day. The larger figure tugged away his hood as the hand gun still pointed at Emil. The larger man's face was striking, angled features, piercing blue eyes semi hidden behind chipped glasses, and a mop of blonde hair that had obviously been hacked away from his eyes. Lukas tried to take a step back to stand with his brother, to be there with him when it finally happened, only to be confronted by a push of the rifle in the smaller man's hand.

"Tino, wh't do ye want to do with 'em?" The larger blonde asked. Tino shook his head, looking down at Peter who was now with his Nunu, his comfort cloth and wrapped around his leg "Not here Berwald, too open, plus Pete. I'm not risking him wandering off again." Berwald nodded. "Fine, th'y came out of th're, we can go in see if th'y are hiding anyth'ng." Berwald suggested, as he nodded his head to the old gutted post office where the three smaller males had spent the night previously.

Tino lowered the rifle in one swift movement and picked Peter up in his arms resting the boy on his hip. "Ber, you go in first, I don't want them to get anything that can hurt you." Tino made a softening face at Berwald. "Go on then, follow on after him you even think of using that knife in your hand and you will have a hole in your head, I'll take that and the rifle also so you don't get any funny ideas. Get inside." Tino said to the two brothers after Berwald had crawled through the hole that Peter and Emil had made the previous day. Lukas took two steps back and grasped Emil's hand "Do as he says".

Lukas put Emil behind him, not trusting the larger man to not instantly pull a trigger as they walked through the entrance. Lukas stepped through the hole in the wall and into the dark musty backroom of the post office. Berwald's gun was trained on them as they stepped through, followed by Tino and Peter. "Keep them here; I'll scout the rest of the building." Tino put peter down and crouched down to face him "Now you go and stand behind your Dad. Don't run off again, you had us very worried Peter. Now I'll be gone for two minutes, you listen to what your Dad says ok." Peter nodded with a slight pout and toddled off to stand behind Berwald's legs.

Berwald's blue eyes looked down for a short second, his empty hand shot out and ruffled Peter's hair "Come h're" he said with a slight twitch of a smile at the corner of his mouth. Lukas and Emil stood back against the wall, weapon less and for now, still alive. Lukas shuddered a little watching Tino walk off to inspect the building, "I knew it, you may treat him well but we know what he is, what you are." Lukas spat at Berwald. The tall blonde's face split into a sarcastic smile "Oh do ye now. Please, tell me wh't my son is, and wh't ye th'nk we are? Th'n ye can tell me wh't ye were d'ing with my boy."

Lukas took a deep breath and held on to Emil' hand, the smaller brother still shaking. "You're a shaker. A flesh eater, you and him" Lukas nodded his head into the direction Tino had walked off in – with both of his weapons "And your using Peter as a, a _lure"_ his deep blue purple eyes narrowed when looking at the boy. Berwald rolled his eyes, "Ye a idiot" his gun still pointed at them. "Are ye th't usel'ss th't ye h'ven't even not'ced the one flaw to ye ass'mption?" At that Peter tugged on Berwald's trouser leg. "Dad, Daddy… they aren't baddies, Emil kept me safe. Mr Meany shouted a lot but he didn't hurt me. I helped them! I helped make a fire last night, I did dad, I collected scraps for it with Emil!" he said with a sing song voice that dripped with innocence. Berwald looked down at his son. "Ok Peter… I'll wait unt'l ye Ma comes b'ck"

Lukas frowned a little he didn't need a child to defend him… wait… the lure was defending him and his brother? Emil looked at Lukas with a similar look of confusion on his face, he looked back towards Peter and Berwald when he noticed "Bror, Bror look." He whispered "The gun, it's steady" Lukas narrowed his eyes again watching at Berwald's hand, when he was interrupted by Tino returning. "There's nothing here, a few smouldering ashes in the open room at the front but nothing else" Tino moved to Berwald's side. "If you're going to kill us what are you waiting for! Stop pussyfooting around. Or at least give me back my knife and my gun, then we can make this a fair fight!" Lukas spat at the pair.

"Like that would do you any good, you have no ammo, and the knife would be useless, you would be riddled with bullets before you could unsheathe it" Tino chuckled. Berwald leaned down and whispered into Tino's ear, he nodded "Right…ok… h'mm." Tino bent down to Peter giving him a kiss on his forehead "They kept you safe huh? Do you think uncle Mat would like them?" Peter grinned and nodded "Yeah! He'd really like Emil! I mean he'd like Meany too but I like Emil most so I know he will like him" Peter looked over to the pale white haired boy and smiled, Emil couldn't help but smile back at something like that. Lukas tried not to watch, it made him ache with memory as he watched.

Tino stood up straight and walked in front of the brothers, "We aren't gonna hurt you. We can tell you're not one of those things, and I'm sure by now you've realised we aren't either. But if you're gonna try and attack us, then we have no choice, we will kill you. So you now have a choice, the easy way, listen to what we have to say and answer our questions, or we can do this the hard way. What's it gonna be?"

Lukas wasn't one to give up easy "Look, just because you're not one of those things, doesn't mean we should trust you. If you want us to listen to you, give me my knife back. That way if either party tries anything funny we all have something to defend ourselves." Lukas looked back to Emil and sighed seeing that smile on his face. "Fine, ask your questions and we will listen but don't expect any answers. And I still want my knife back" Tino nodded "Ok, I think that seems alright. Are you ok with those terms Ber?" He said to his partner. Berwald nodded and lowered his gun, picking Peter up with one hand and nuzzling his hair a little "List'n to ye Ma, shouldn't give us such a fr'ght boy" Peter giggled a little at the nuzzling "I'm sorry Dad." He wrapped his arms around his father's neck.

Tino smiled at the affection of his little family and handed Lukas his knife "I could do with sitting down, Berwald and I have been searching for two days for him. He thought he lost his comforter when we were travelling, one minute he was there, the next, poof gone. I don't think I've ever been so afraid. We should go to the other room and resurrect that fire." Peter squealed a little "Can I go collect things for it again!? Can I, can I Mam can I?" Tino chuckled "Fine, but you stay in this building, and one of us goes with you. I'm not having a repeat of losing you." Peter squirmed free from his father's hold "Yeah! Alright! Dad, Dad you're coming with me! I know where all the best stuff is!" Peter whooped and hollered. Lukas and Emil waited patiently before Lukas finally spoke up, "Emil, you go with them. I think I need a word with, Tino was it?" Emil nodded, secretly happy to be going to do something other than standing there shaking and worrying about what his brother might do. Tino waited until Emil had gone before he spoke to Lukas "You're dying to ask a question, so do it." He started walking through to the room with the ashes, Lukas followed behind "How… He calls you Mama, but you're a man, and his age he would have been born after the fall. How?"

Tino gathered a few things from around the room to start the fire again, he sat and arranged things in the ashes to light them ready for the collection that the other three males would bring "We found Peter, we found him as a baby, no older than a new-born, in the ruins of a broken and charred house. Berwald and I had only just teamed up when we found him, but I couldn't just leave him there, the poor thing. Berwald and I we, we didn't know each other before the fall, but we found each other almost at the perfect time when it happened. He hid me, protected me, and I him, once it was all over we had wandered for what seemed an age before we found Peter, and soon after we found a small camp that the leader called Valhalla, Ber didn't trust them at first, but we needed a place for Peter, we couldn't bring up a child whilst wandering those wastes, that's no place for a child." Tino looked over to Lukas whose face seemed a little pained at the thought of that, he was dragging Emil through exactly that. "We joined Valhalla and we brought Peter up together, and things grew between Ber and I, we became partners, not just two lost souls wandering the wastes." Tino produced some homemade matches and lit the few scraps alight, poking them with an old metal rod, remnants from an old sorting machine.

"So you and Berwald..." Lukas started to ask. "Ja, he is my lover and I couldn't have asked for someone better even before the fall. But once Peter started to grow up, he started to walk, started to talk, Mama was his first word. Nearly shattered my heart seeing him flourish into the little trooper he is now. He continued to learn to speak but he never really knew what to call me and Berwald, so one day when he was four –ish , we don't know his exact birthdate, so we use the day we found him as an indicator, Berwald had the idea. We were raising him, we were his parents, so why didn't he call us that? He called us both dad for a while, he's fully aware that I'm not a woman, we have explained that we aren't his birthparents and once he is a little older we will explain in more detail, but he chose one day to call me Mama, said it was easier to do that. So we let him. It's hard enough for him to be growing up in this land, we don't want to make things worse, so we give him some leeway." Tino looked back up to Lukas and saw the shadows behind him, all three other males were stood there listening to Tino tell his little tale. Peter smiled and trotted over to Tino wrapping his arms around him "My mama is the best guy in the world. He wanted me when no one else did."

Berwald had a small smile on his face as Lukas looked up at him. Emil and Peter started to help Tino build up the fire. "The qu'stions we w'nt know are: how l'ng have ye been al'ne, an how have ye surv'ved this l'ng without a netw'rk unit. We know it's not unhe'rd of but, for two as y'ung as ye, we're j'st a little s'rprised" Berwald asked as he sat down near Tino. Lukas nodded, fair enough questions for him to ask. "We were with our parents, we survived the fall, but soon after, they were taken by the shakers, the flesh eaters, they tried to come for us to but we got away. We have been alone ever since, surviving on anything we can find, that must have been five or six years ago, I forget, it's hard to tell the days when they all roll into one." Lukas explained. Tino nodded and leaned against Berwald a little before he spoke "We only ask since, you have Emil. We would like to repay you for taking care of Peter. We'd like you to come to Valhalla with us."


	6. Chapter 6 - Only If You Want

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters.

There will be violence, gore and mentions of death through-out this story – If there is anything else it will be added at the beginning of each chapter.

* * *

"The Future of Valhalla" – Chapter 6 – Only If You Want.

The crackle of the fire that roared in the room made the shadows dance around the five males gathered around it, the heat making Peter, the youngest, sleepy. The soft yawns from the boy seemed to echo throughout the silent room, silent but a question hung in the air. Lukas frowned deeply, the question echoed in his mind; his deep blue eyes that seemed black in the firelight flitted across to his brother, Emil, whose face was lit up like a nuclear sunrise.

Lukas' face contorted, a violent shake of his head "Nei! No, why would we come to your camp? Want us fresh for the rest of your colony? Kill us there so you don't have to drag us through the wastes! I know your plans! Your lures too! _**SHAKERS I KNEW IT EMIL WE NEED TO GO!**_" Lukas shot to his feet and held the knife out in front of him. Emil clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes "Sit down you're going to hurt yourself Lukas" the teen scolded his elder brother. Lukas' face dropped in a little shock at Emil's words. "If they wanted to kill us they would have done it as soon as they saw us!" Emil added shaking his head at the blonde man on his feet. Tino patted his rifle next to him, and chuckled softly "Well… if I wanted to have killed you, you would never have seen us at all. Not to brag but I'm an excellent shot."

Lukas put his back against a wall his face stricken with a bewildered look from Emil and Tino's words. Berwald coughed slightly to clear his throat. "In all hon'sty, we like our col'ny as it is, there's pl'nty to go aro'nd and we could do w'thout the extra mouths to feed. The reas'n we ask is if ye would w'nt to come w'th us back to Valh'lla is; Mathias, our "lead'r" of sorts w'nts to make our camp a hav'n for s'rvivors… but if we aren't f'nding s'rvivors that's not going to happ'n." Berwald leaned back and cracked his shoulders "An' Tino an' I saw how ye w'nted to pr'tect yer bror. It r'minded us of pr'tecting Peter. We need more det'rmined people w'th us, ye have a fight in ye that we could really use. It's alm'st as a trade-off, we help ye pr'tect yer bror an' ye help us pr'tect our camp. But we can't make ye do anything an' if ye say no, we aren't going to kill ye, we will let the wastes do that" he added as he reached for Tino's hand rubbing a thumb over the back of it.

Lukas slumped to the floor with his back still against the wall, his mind in overdrive. He wanted to do good by his little brother, but right now he was battling with his ideas of the right thing to do, and what would actually be best for Emil. Tino nodded quietly at Berwald and sighed audibly "Look, we aren't asking you to decide right away. Our colony is self-sufficient for the most part, but we do need more people to join us, we need more able bodied people to help us protect our camp. Mathias is our leader he is a nice guy, he looks after us, gives us a purpose, if he didn't find Valhalla in the first place there would be a lot more death in this world for everyone who lives there. You could get cleaned up, get some new clothes, have a decent meal, the food hasn't got much flavour but it's bulky and it gives you enough energy. Berwald and I just thought for someone going through life as you are, maybe this would have been a better alternative. We aren't going to be leaving till at least tomorrow, it's too dark to be travelling now. Why don't you talk with your bror and sleep on it." Tino offered to Lukas before he picked the now sleeping Peter up into his arms and kissed his cheek lightly. "Whatever you decide. We are grateful that you kept him safe Lukas, even if you didn't want to." Tino laid the sleeping child onto a makeshift bedroll, he took off his coat and tucked it around his precious son.

Lukas watched on with a hard expression, his mind placing Emil in Peter's place and his heart ached. Just as Lukas's mind played out the altered scene in his mind, his younger brother sidled up to him with a sour look on his face "I know what you are thinking Lukas. But this is an opportunity for us! We should take it." Emil huffed and crossed his arms "We've spent most of our lives dragging our sorry selves through the dust and debris. I can't do it any more Lukas. I want a night's sleep where I'm not woken by the chill of the night, I want a night where we go to sleep and can sleep soundly for the first time in what seems like an age. We need to go there Lukas. If you don't want to go then that's fine, but don't expect me to stay with you. I'm going whether you like it or not." Emil turned away from his brother "Get some sleep, if you're coming with us tomorrow then come. Only if you want to though, if you're not then I hope you have a good life!" Emil stood giving his brother one last look before the rounded the fire to sit with the small family, settling down to sleep for the night.

Lukas bit his tongue; the tears welled in the corners of his eyes. His whole life he protected his brother and now he felt like his whole world was crashing down around him. Lukas turned over to his side and faced the wall squeezing his eyes shut and curled his knees up to his chest. Of all the years that he and his brother had spent surviving through the toxic wasteland, through losing his parents, he had never felt alone, right now he felt like the loneliest person in the world and it terrified him. Sleep once again did not come easy for Lukas it was fuelled with nightmares of losing Emil in countless ways, over and over again.

The glow of the fire died out through the night bathing the five males in darkness, the quiet sounds of breathing reverberating through the room, Lukas' teeth chattered as the cold seeped into his skin and chilled the sweat on his brow that stuck his flyaway fringe to his face. Lukas slicked his hair back sitting up and strained his eyes in the darkness to make out the faint outlines of his brother and the family on the other side of the room. His gaze lingered over his brother's dark shape and he sighed. There was nothing he could say to change his mind, Emil could be stubborn like that, a family trait he supposed. Before he knew it Lukas' face was bathed in streaks of sunlight that streamed in through the cracks in the boards that covered the windows.

Soon the sleeping bodies arose from their slumber, to a thoughtful Lukas watching over them. Tino cracked his back and ruffled Peter's hair "Come on sweetie we need to get going". Peter yawned and rubbed his eyes before nodding and standing picking up his comforter and a few little titbits that were scattered around the room. Lukas watched as his brother stood and brushed himself off, having nothing of his own to take with him. Emil looked up at his brother with silent pleading eyes, he lowered them and follow behind the wall of a man that was Berwald. They prepared everything they needed to make the journey to Valhalla, Berwald looked over to the blonde man still sat on the floor. "Ye can still come w'th us ye know" He offered quietly, Lukas bit down hard on his tongue and refused to look at the huge man in front of him. Berwald shrugged and left he followed on behind his partner, son and now Lukas' brother.

The silence crept around him; it filled the room until it almost suffocated him. Lukas wiped his face of the tears that streamed down it, pushing back his blonde hair so he could see; the slow breeze through the building whipped the ashes of the dead fire around the room. Lukas watched them float in the air, they floated around him and settled on to his already dirty and badly patched clothes, a single breath made them fly into the air and leave him, "_The ashes of my life" _Lukas thought to himself. His fists clenched, he stood and travelled through the building as fast as his feet could take him, out into the wastes and into the blinding horizon in front of him. Lukas' feet hurt, his chest wheezed and panted but he cried out all the same "Wait… WAIT… **BROR**... I'm coming… just… wait."

Emil's whole body whipped around at the sound in the distance, his eyes widened and his lips broke into a rare smile "Um, We need to stop!" Emil said as he tugged onto Tino's coat sleeve. "We don't have time to stop Emil if we want to reach the colony by nightfall" Tino shrugged his arm back only to be caught by Berwald's hand "Tino, He came" Berwald said as he turned slowly to look back at Lukas who had run himself ragged to catch up with them. Tino nodded and stopped a small smile on his faith "Took a little longer than I thought he would."

Peter bounced on the balls of his feet trying to see around Emil as the travel party stopped suddenly "Hey! What's going on? Why can't I see?!" He wailed a little as he poked himself underneath Emil's legs to see what the older males had stopped for. "Oh… Mr Meany is coming too." Peter removed himself to stand back at Tino's side, "Ma! I'm hungry!" Peter said as he tugged on Tino sleeve. Tino rolled his eyes "Fine, we can stop for a little to eat and give your Mr Meany some water, he looks like he needs it" Tino commented as Lukas dropped onto Emil as he finally reached them. Lukas nodded in thanks before he hugged his little brother "You don't think… I was going to let you… go… that easy did you?" Lukas panted out. Emil squirmed a little in his brothers arms and groaned "Lukaaas, stop it". He wriggled out of his grip with a slightly red face, "I'm glad you're here" Emil said before giving his brothers arm a soft shove.

After libations had been taken, the band of travellers picked themselves up and pressed on through the arid wasteland, walking for what seemed like an eternity. Every few miles they had to shield themselves using the limited supplies they had, from the dust storms that raged around them. Peter tried to entertain himself by playing a game of I spy with Emil, which most often the answer turned out to be bush or dirt. Lukas stayed at the back of the pack, his hand still glued to his knife. His trust was still not given to the family in front of him, he kept a watchful eye on his brother from under his messy long fringe.

The temperature dropped rapidly signalling that nightfall was almost upon them and Lukas still had yet to see any signs of a colony around the area that they were currently in. Berwald took off his glasses and wiped the dust off them before turning to Emil and Lukas "Not long now, we will be th're bef're n'ghtfall." Lukas' hand tightened around the horn handle of the knife at his hip, "I don't see any signs of life here. Except a few critters, I think your bullshitting us" Lukas spat. Emil rubbed his face "Lukas don't" he whispered. Tino, who had Peter on his shoulder at the current moment turned to face him "Do you think we would make our whereabouts obvious to anyone that just so happened to pass by? If you're a survivor and know what you're looking for you will see it, if you're a beast whether human or animal you're not going to find us. And on the rare occasion that happens, I can guarantee nothing will get in through the gates." Tino said with a serious look that made Lukas bite back on his tongue.

Just as the orange sun was setting behind them the travellers reached a rocky outcrop, the rock face seemed jagged and rough. Emil and Lukas' first thought was that if they were asked to climb that they would all surely fall to their deaths, but were surprised when Berwald nodded towards it "We're h're." Tino and Peter walked to the rock face and bewildered Emil and Lukas watched on as the pair walked through what looked like a solid face and disappeared to the left. "It's an illusi'n, the entr'nce is like a maze, easy to nav'gate if ye know how" Berwald said with a smirk to the astounded brothers, nudging them forward to follow Tino and Peter. They took twist and turn after twist and turn, following the jagged path that was laid out in front of them, Emil wondered how anyone could navigate through this maze before his brother tapped him, they were at a huge wall of metal the cavern was un-naturally bright for something inside a rock formation. It was only now that the brothers looked in awe with a silent realisation that they knew very little about Valhalla. Tino turned with his son in his arms and a smile on his face as Berwald walked up to a door in the metal wall, he placed Peter down and clapped his hands onto the brother's shoulders "Well then. Here it is, Welcome to Valhalla"


	7. Chapter 7 - A Little Scrawny Aren't They

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters.

There will be violence, gore and mentions of death through-out this story – If there is anything else it will be added at the beginning of each chapter.

* * *

"The Future of Valhalla" – Chapter 7 – A little Scrawny Aren't They

The barricade between the brothers and their anticipated future loomed over them, taunting them with the promise of a better life inside its metallic embrace. "Woooaahh" was the sound that slipped from Emil's lips, Lukas looked over his brother's shoulder and he suddenly felt small in the presence of this monolithic wall.

Tino stood to the side of them with a small smirk on his face and Peter still at his side, gripping his hand. "The Block is pretty impressive, Isn't it? Come on Berwald has gone to the guards to let them know your with us and to open the block." Tino waved the brothers forward to the door that seemed minute in comparison to the huge structure Tino had called the block. As they drew closer and the details of the block came into view Lukas noticed that it wasn't one solid sheet of metal, thee block was constructed out of hundreds of sheets of metal and strong debris, all welded together to form the giant blockade. Tino ushered Peter through the door giving a polite nod to the guard stationed there before sending the two brothers through ahead of him. The other side Berwald was waiting for them his stern look never changing.

Lukas and Emil broke through to the inside of the colony and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, seeing that it was not as they thought, a cave but a whole town set into a dried canyon in the rock face, it seemed like it went on forever. The walls of the canyon were layered; rough hand carved stone steps made their way up them to lead to a few rows of small huts made out of anything and everything. Emil's face lit up; to him this looked like one of the neighbourhoods he had seen in the pages of children's books that he had seen in his years of traveling and scavenging, something he himself had never experienced. Emil's voice cracked a little as he spoke up "I-Is there… other kids here? Besides us?" Emil pointed to Peter and himself. Berwald shook his head curtly "Just ye I'm afr'id" Emil nodded at Peter whose face was lit up brighter than the sky at high time.

"Yeah! It's just us two Emil! We can play together and find bugs and make things! I'll even show you all the best hiding places in here! It's going to be great!" the small blond grinned and refrained from jumping about only due to Tino's hand on his shoulder. Berwald nodded and walked forward "Come on, I'll take ye to get clean'd up. Ye need it. B'sides Mat will be busy 'til aft'r eatin' time." Lukas instantly hesitated "Why do we have to go see him? How do we know we can trust him?!" He said through gritted teeth "Can't we just get cleaned up and go about things quietly?"

This made Tino tense and spin on his heel "You should be grateful for him, without him we never would have survived, found you and brought you here. He's a good guy, if you won't trust him then fine that's up to you, but don't disrespect a man you haven't even met or you will find yourself out on your ass" Lukas bit his cheek, looking across to his brother who was smiling and following Peter as the small boy held something out in his hands to show the elder. "Fine, let's just get on with it then" Lukas conceded. Tino nodded and followed on after Berwald.

The two men led the brothers deeper into the canyon, the huts and shacks started to become a little denser the deeper they went. After they veered off left the brothers were brought to a hut, on the outside it looked pleasant, not put together haphazardly like many others they had seen on the short walk through the small canyon, but seemingly expertly laid out to make the structure strong and sturdy and also a little bigger than a few of the others also. Lukas wondered why this was so neatly done whilst the others were so shoddily put together. "Bu'lt it w'th me own hands" Berwald said as if he had read the blonde man's mind leaving his mouth slightly agape. "Why haven't you helped the others?" Emil asked quietly realising as he asked that maybe he shouldn't have. "I am, I st'rted from the top end but mat'rials are g'tting sp'rse and there's a lot of shacks here. I'm only f'cusing on the inh'bited ones though" Berwald answered as he opened the door and showing them to the inside "This is our home" he announced as he switched on a few solar lamps as they walked through the hut.

Once the room became illuminated Lukas and Emil could see that the outer hut face wasn't as big as this place was, the hut was set into the wall and the rooms became fashioned into natural hollow pockets in the rock face, making the space inside doubled. "Wash waters through there, I'll get some clean clothes and things for you to wear, the sooner we get this done the faster we can get you to Mat." Tino said as he toddled off through the rooms pointing to the room where the two boys could clean up. Lukas rolled his eyes at the mention of this Mat guy, he didn't see why they had to meet him, he was the one who wanted more people right? None the less, he tugged Emil through the room to the wash water to get cleaned up.

Soon they were both cleaned and clothed waiting patiently to be taken to the leader of this colony; Tino brought them both a cup and a bread roll. "Eat but take it slowly, we sent the cooks a message from the block to bring this here for you" he said to them as they took the food, in the cup was a watery leek soup and the bread roll although gritty had more flavour than the two brothers were used to, they tried their hardest to take the food slowly though Emil practically inhaled his bread roll without chewing. Tino led the two males through their home, out on the dirt track that lead through the colony deeper into the canyon. "I'm taking you to central. Mat will be up there. Just try and be nice ok" He said as he shot a look towards Lukas, which he huffed in response to.

At the end of the canyon there was another blockade, not of metal and not made by any hand here in the colony, this was a massive landslide, made by exploded missiles, that was obvious from the amount of debris and the craters that were left in the rock high above them. At the very foot of this fallout blockade stood a structure unlike the rest of the shacks in this colon. It was fortified, spear tipped stakes surrounded its boarders, being much larger than the rest of the huts and shacks this was obviously the centre of command here. Emil eyed the stakes as they walked passed them, the look of horror on his face must have been apparent as Tino casually said "Don't worry their just in case of some animal wandering in, we can build homes again but this place, we need to keep intact."

Once inside the guarded building Lukas noticed that it was of similar structure to Tino and Berwald's home, set into the rock to make it much larger on the inside than it is on the outside. They stood awkwardly waiting for Tino to direct them to where they should go. Instead he stood there with them, his arms crossed and he rolled his eyes "He's always late" he muttered to himself.

Just as Tino muttered those words a mop of wild hair turned the corner, the man it was attached to stood tall above the three males. "I'm here! What was it you wanted me for Tino?" he asked as he noticed Lukas and Emil "Findlings?! Ahh Tino! You and Ber are stars! Should loose Pete more often!" he hollered. Tino glared at the man. "I don't think so." Tino turned to Lukas and Emil "This Is Mathias. Mathias, this is Lukas and Emil, we found them, well more like Peter found them really." Tino crossed his arms once he had finished. Mathias had a goofy grin on his face when looking at the two younger males, Lukas raised an eyebrow and tilted his head towards his brother and whispered "_You have got to be kidding?_" Emil stifled a laugh as Mathias started circling them. "We aren't corpses so stop circling like a vulture!" Lukas snapped out his eyes narrowed.

Mathias laughed quietly "Looks like you picked up some feisty ones! I like feisty." Mathias stood in front of Lukas and moved his fringe out of his eyes, Lukas slapped his hand away. "Bit scrawny though aren't they?" Mathias said with a smirk on his face as he watched Lukas' recoil and scrunch. "If by scrawny you mean lean, then yes, it's not like we've had much to gorge ourselves on these past few years. Don't think I can't take you down if I wanted to!" Lukas spat, Emil shuffled his feet and shook his head "Bror, stop it." he groaned at Lukas. Mathias grinned and put his hands on his hips "I'm sure you could, but for now, let's keep your temper in check shall we? I could use someone like you on the block" Mathias turned to Emil "How about you little man? You're a little young to be on the block… suppose we could give you training... hmm Yeah! That's what we will do, Start you off slow, let you have a bit of downtime to settle in, then we'll put you through your paces, What do you say to that?" Mathias asked.

Emil looked up and shrugged "Will there be food?" Mathias nodded and raised an eyebrow. "Then it's fine I suppose" Emil answered to the leaders response. Mathias clapped them both on the shoulder, Lukas' was like thunder, "Well, that's settled then! Come on through to the meeting room and we will assign you a dwelling, I'm assuming you want to be put together?" Mathias took one look at Lukas' face and pursed his lips "Take that as a yes then shall I?" Mathias led them through to the meeting room, Tino followed on behind them, his arms still crossed. It looked like a simple room filled with maps and papers, but this room was the central hub for all activity in the colony, the housing, the people who lived here, the area mapped out, information on the animals and flesh eaters they had come across was all written down and stored here. Tino leafed through a section of papers and pulled one out and passed it to Mathias. "That one's empty and its close in…" he trailed off. Mathias looked it over and nodded "Fine, Let me just get your names down here and then you are almost all set. Tino will take you to your dwelling, and I will be by tomorrow at first light, rest up and be ready for me." Mathias winked at Lukas, who clenched his jaw and fist. Mathias scribbled their names down on the paper that had the details of their new dwelling, their new home.

Home. An almost foreign concept to the brothers, a stationary space that they didn't have to be afraid of, or fight their way through, Lukas let out a breath that he hadn't realised he had been holding. Emil trembled with excitement he couldn't wait but tried his best not to let it show. Their details had been taken down and Tino led them out of the room and told them to wait, he rushed off to the side hallway and came back only minutes later with his arms full of clothing "Here, these should do you fine for a while" he handed the two a pile each "Come on… Let's get you home" Tino said with a cheery tone. They walked the way they came but did not reach Tino, Berwald and Peter's dwelling, they stopped about a hundred yards short of it next to a newly fixed up shack. "This came empty a while back, thought it would be ideal being so close, I'm sure Peter will be grateful" Tino smiled before opening the door and showing them around inside, pointing out their washroom, bedrooms and living space. Lukas put his things down and sighed, Tino walked back to the door "I'll leave you to get better acquainted with the place, we eat communally here at the centre, I'll come get you tomorrow when it's time." Tino then left the pair to their own devices in their new home.

Emil ran into the bedrooms and threw himself on to a bed. "MINE! I'm getting this one!" he called to Lukas who was still standing in the living area, the pile of clothes in his arms. Hearing his brother's voice so happy made Lukas' heart ache, why did he feel that despite all the niceties and introductions here that he just didn't belong? Lukas walked past Emil's room, poking his head through the opening "Get some rest; we've had a long day." He carried on through to the room that was his and set his clothes down; he sat on the bed and stared at the walls. His meagre possessions he placed around the room, the rifle in the corner, his water skin and the titbits he had collected placed on the dresser, and most important of all, his hunting knife, placed under his pillow for direct protection. He started to feel a little claustrophobic or was that the exhaustion creeping up on him? He never got the chance to ponder the question much further as sleep took his body, a surprisingly peaceful sleep for someone whose nightmares plague his dreams many times a night.

After a sound night's sleep Lukas woke up called Emil, his mind played scenarios over and over as his brother did not answer. Lukas rubbed his face and pulled himself out of bed and down the hall to his brother's room, only to find him out like a light sprawled on the bed snoring lightly. Lukas stood in the doorway for a little longer, keeping a watchful eye over his only family. Not too soon a rattling knock came at the front of the shack interrupting his thoughts. Lukas rolled his eyes; he didn't think that Mathias was being serious when he told that he would come in the morning. Lukas opened the corrugated tin door to find two people stood at their door way. "Hi, Mr Lukas! Ma said I can't call you Mr Meanie any more, but, can I play with Emil?!" Peter bounced about slowly restrained by a larger hand, not owned by Berwald or Tino, but yes as he had promised, Mathias. "The little tyke wanted to come see your Bror, so I offered to take him. Since I was coming to see you anyways." Mathias said with a small smile. Lukas crouched down to Peter "He's asleep, but if you can wake him up you can play with him, does that sound fair?" Peter grinned and nodded so fast Lukas though the kids head would fall off its shoulders. Once Peter had dashed through to the house searching the rooms for Emil, Mathias spoke up "Don't worry it's only you I need to see. I remember seeing you carrying a Hunting Knife. Are you any good with it?"

Lukas clenched his hand at his hip, only to find his knife not there; it was still under his pillow. He stood and stared at the mop haired leader "What if I am?" He asked. Mathias moved into the hut without being offered and past the smaller blond man, "Then I'd ask you to show me, knives and axes are my thing, If you're good enough, I might have just the place for you here" He said with a sly smirk. "Oh really now, where would that be?" Lukas asked with slight disbelief. Mathias spun on his heel and a grin on his face, "The only place that needs close hand weapons, Central Guard." Mathias took out a butterfly knife and spun it expertly between his fingers, "Go get it, I'm going to test you myself." he said with his grin reflected of the sun highlighted surface of the blade.


End file.
